A fork in the road: the Enhanced Tariff Option

A fork in the road: the Enhanced Tariff Option It’s been an important couple of weeks for the finance departments of all providers of NHS services. After the proposed tariff for next year was delayed, providers had until 4 March to decide whether to accept NHS England and Monitor's Enhanced Tariff Option. Adam Roberts looks at what this means for those who accepted. The Health Foundation

The state of care in counties: the integration imperative

The state of care in counties: the integration imperative This report from the County All Party Parliamentary Group is the result of an inquiry into integrated care and the future of adult social care. It concludes that the success of the health and social care integration is at risk in counties from overly centralised NHS structures entrenching barriers between services. It argues that there was a critical need for health and social care deals to enable counties and their partners in health to negotiate devolved deals suited to their local challenges.

• Report
• Summary
• Press release

Ignoring the prescription?

Ignoring the prescription? This paper reports the findings of a survey of 142 clinical leaders in emergency medicine across the UK. The survey was carried out in response to the unprecedented pressures over the 2014/15 winter period and reveals just how much needs to be done to address the profound challenges facing A&E services. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine

Lack of social care causing devastating consequences for 100 000s of cancer patients

Lack of social care causing devastating consequences for 100 000s of cancer patients Hundreds of thousands of people with cancer are left housebound, unable to wash or dress themselves and are even at risk of soiling themselves in their own home due to a lack of social care support, according to a new report published today by Macmillan Cancer Support.

See also:

• Hidden at Home: The social care needs of people with cancer Macmillan Cancer Support
• Care failings that leave half a million cancer victims to cope alone: A third are left housebound because they cannot walk, drive or use public transport The Daily Mail

More children showing early signs of serious diabetes complications, reveals new report

More children showing early signs of serious diabetes complications, reveals new report 1,000 more children in England and Wales with diabetes were reported last year (2013/14) – and despite the quality of care improving, there remains significant variation across regions and between units, according to the latest National Paediatric Diabetes Audit report.

The audit also reveals that there are a ‘worryingly high’ number of young people aged 12 and over showing early signs of potentially serious complications. Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health

See also:

• Warning over young diabetics' health BBC News

NHS 'whistleblower' demands new job

NHS 'whistleblower' demands new job A former NHS boss who says he was sacked for raising patient safety concerns has called for an apology and a "comparable" job. BBC News

Number of smokers getting NHS help to quit has halved

Number of smokers getting NHS help to quit has halved A new report warns that the number of smokers given help from the NHS to give up appears to have halved in three years, with increasing numbers turning to e-cigarettes. The Daily Telegraph

Four in five NHS trusts are restricting surgery for obese patients - and one has banned ALL routine ops for those deemed too fat

Four in five NHS trusts are restricting surgery for obese patients - and one has banned ALL routine ops for those deemed too fat Senior doctors have blasted the 'blatant rationing' as 'immoral and unfair' as new figures show two thirds of NHS trusts also deny some procedures to smokers. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Exclusive: NHS care rationed for smokers and obese GP Online

Jeremy Hunt accused of covering up critical NHS report

Jeremy Hunt accused of covering up critical NHS report Health secretary has withheld damning management study by former M&S boss Stuart Rose for political reasons, claims Tory MP Sarah Wollaston.

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt faces allegations of a politically motivated cover-up after the Tory head of the health select committee said his department’s refusal to publish a damning report on NHS management before the general election was not acceptable.

Sarah Wollaston, a former GP who took over the chairmanship of the committee last year, said it was not reasonable or right that a report by former Marks & Spencer boss and Tory peer Stuart Rose, which was commissioned by Hunt a year ago and completed in December, was being kept from the public. Continue reading... The Guardian

Does medicines regulator Nice face a post-election overhaul?

Does medicines regulator Nice face a post-election overhaul? The different political parties each have plans for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

It is 16 years since the then Labour government launched Nice (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) with the aim of ending the “postcode lottery” by providing definitive expert-based national guidance on the drugs and treatments that should be provided by the NHS. In the runup to the general election it seems that Labour alone of the three main political parties wants to see significant changes that it says would strengthen Nice and guard against signs that the lottery is re-emerging. Continue reading... The Guardian

Dr Hilary Cass: Britain doesn't need to have the worst child mortality rate in western Europe

Dr Hilary Cass: Britain doesn't need to have the worst child mortality rate in western Europe Britain needs to overhaul the way that healthcare is delivered to children, one of the country’s leading paediatricians has warned in an interview with The Independent on Sunday.